New coach, same story for Rangers

New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault stands behind his bench in the first period of game 1 of a second-round NHL playoff hockey series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh Friday, May 2, 2014. The Rangers won 3-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

One season after a second-round playoff exit was enough to cost John Tortorella his job, Alain Vigneault’s version of the New York Rangers are well on their way to meeting a similar fate, perhaps as early as Friday’s Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Down two games to one heading into what many deemed a “must-win” fourth game at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers were somehow held to their lowest regular season or playoff shot total in over two years and were pressured into 25 giveaways by a Penguins defensive core that was without Brooks Orpik for all but 5:05 worth of ice time after he re-aggravated an injury in the first period.

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“For us, it’s tough to see Brooksie come out, especially when you’re excited to see him get back in there,” defenseman Paul Martin said.

“It’s a boost for us as a D core, so to see him go down was tough. But after that, it’s about taking short shifts and being smart with the puck. I think our forwards helped us out by getting it in deep and spending a little more time in their end. We had smart changes, so I think we were able to manage it decently.”

Kris Letang, the team’s top offensive defenseman, missed several shifts in the middle of the game due to a skate issue, but goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t even notice. And why would he? He needed to make just 13 saves, boosted by goals from Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Sutter, Jussi Jokinen and Chris Kunitz in the 4-2 victory.

“(The D) played a solid game, all of them,” Fleury said. “They played hard, so a lot of credit goes to them. But our forwards came back and helped out in our zone too.”

The Rangers were outplayed in every facet of the game, a somewhat common theme during a lopsided series against a far superior opponent.

Superstar forward Rick Nash was booed every time he touched the puck late in the game, thanks to a stretch in which he’s now gone 14 straight postseason games without scoring a goal. All-world netminder Henrik Lundqvist let in several questionable goals, snapping his stick over the net after the second of four Penguins goals he’d let in on the night. And one of the team’s top defensemen, Marc Staal, had the puck go off his skates on two separate occasions to help lead to Pittsburgh goals.

When it matters most, things simply don’t go the Rangers way. Regardless of who’s behind the bench, it’s been a common theme for 20 years and counting.

“We didn’t pick a good night to manage the puck the way we did,” Vigneault said after Game 4. “I don’t want to take any credit away from Pittsburgh; they forced the play, they played a real solid game without the puck that forced us into a lot of those turnovers. Our puck management and our execution weren’t very good and ultimately cost us the game.”